Ike Gets the Call

Written by Matt Ryan | 19 April 2010

As expected, the Mets recalled Ike Davis from AAA Buffalo and promptly penciled him into tonight's starting lineup.  He will wear #29 and bat in the six hole.  In related news, he also defriended me on facebook yesterday.  Not cool Ike.

For me, this is easily the most exciting call-up since David Wright made his debut in July of 2004.  When Fernando Martinez and Lastings Milledge were called up there was similar excitement, but those guys were raw and we expected them to struggle.  Ike Davis is a polished, major league ready slugger, and I fully expect him to contribute instantly.  I'm not saying he's gonna go Ryan Howard on us, but he will almost certainly be an upgrade over what the Mets have dealt with so far.

His professional career did not get off to a very good start in 2008, but ever since last June the kid has absolutely raked at every level.  He put together a strong 2009 campaign in AA and he finished the year with 13 HR in his final 44 games.  Then he absolutely dominated the Arizona Fall League, spring training, and the first two weeks of action in AAA.  Clearly the kid is ready, and its time to see what he can do.

Davis brings two plus tools to the table.  His defense, and his power.  Those are two areas where the Mets are seriously lacking, and I'm glad Omar decided to promote Ike sooner rather than later.  Who knows how he will perform on the big stage.  But this team is under a ton of pressure and they could definitely use a spark.  At the very least, I'm excited to see what Ike is all about.  This team is playing a very dull brand of baseball right now and we could use some fresh blood.  For a full scouting report on Ike Davis, check out this link from Toby Hyde of Mets Minor League Blog.

Added by Benny B.

I am not going to go all Ga-Ga after one game where the rookie goes 2-3 with his first big league hit & RBI.  But one simply can't not be impressed by what Ike brings to the table.  He has the ceiling of a David Wright, or he could end up just being a serviceable major leaguer. However, in the near term, this team went from barely watchable to I-can't-wait-for-the-game-tonight.  The Mets are more interesting today than they were before yesterday, and it is because of Ike and all the home grown talent this team suddenly has.  David Wright, Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan, Jenry Mejia, Jon Neise, Mike Pelfry, Ike Davis....all home grown.  And this isn't even including Daniel Murphy, Fernando Martinez & Ruben Tejada; all of whom should see time with the team this year.

So yes indeed, We like Ike.  And it appears the team does too as I felt they were a little less tight last night...I guess that will happen when the idiotic Mike Jacobs experiment is put to an end.  Now all they have to do is cut GMJ, and bring up Carter & Tejada.  Look for D-Wright and Jay-Bay to have breakout games this week.  Go Mets!